jerrybeirne

check out www.airbagan ,click travel info, where you will see details of VOA. may be try phoning them to make sure the info is valid.

make sure your u.s dollars are in immaculate condition.

you get a better exchange rate on the black market than hotels.

have a good trip.

call the loas consulate in khon kaen, 043242857. i was there last week, very helpful.

i was in and out in ten minutes with a loas visa. 1,400 baht for a u.k. passport holder.

they did not want dollars.

<P>if you have time get your visa from Laos Consulate on Prachasomosorn Road (before 12.00). Ask for express service and you will get it back in 10 minutes (200 baht extra). Go straight to the Bus Station on Klang Mueang (near Kaen Inn) and the ticket office for the Thai-Laos international bus service is in the middle aisle at one end (first window on left). Then buy your ticket for the afternoon bus (15.15) and that will drop you off, eventually, at Vientiane Bus Station. From there get a tuk tuk to the 'Phone Pseuth Guesthouse' (550 baht per night) which is located within walking distance of most of the bars and restaurants. The tuk tuk drivers in Laos make bangkok tuk tuk drivers appear meek by comparison. Bus station to guesthouse, no more than 100 baht all in, haggle there is plenty of choice. If no takers walk away and one will break rank and take you for 100 baht.<BR>If you are on overstay its not a good idea to take the international bus because you will be detained why you pay the fine and the bus will not wait for you. My advice is take one of the early morning trains about 05.00 and 08.00 (please check) and they stop 600m from the bridge. After checking into Laos get a tuk tuk to the above guesthouse for about 200-250(no more). People in the hotel and in the bars will give you the way to get to the embassy and what to do. If you have any problems obtaining a visa you can ring a Mr Seng Banlusak(good English) 0206775733 and for about 2000 baht he will get your tourist visa and deliver it to your hotel next day. You can get your visa back same day for about 4500 baht negotiable. Know many who used him to avoid the queues, great service nice guy. If you need any further info please im me</P>

sawasdii truethailand, i am thinking of visitng khon kaen and surrounding areas and then doing a visa run to vientiene to update my non imm "o" and stay there a couple of days.

i last went there about four years ago and getting the loas entry visa on the friendship bridge seemed to take forever.

if i get my loas visa in khon kaen and then get the international bus what happens at the friendship bridge?

get off the bus and be stamped out of thailand then go to the loas immigration and get stamped in, then get back on the bus to go to vientiene.

i remeber you could not get on the international bus unless you had a loas visa.

also is getting a loas visa in kohn kaen pretty quick and easy.

is the phone pseuth geust house o.k or a backpacker type place.

thanks for any info in advance, your post was very informative but i just wanted to clarify a couple of things.

chock dii khrap,

jerry, in hot chiang mai.

.

check out www.psoriasis-association.org.uk a very useful sight.

I have been a sufferer for 25 years, though apart from one really bad attack just after i turned 50, mine is pretty mild up against some peoples.

what works for some may not for others.

i have had u.v. treatment, tried all the various creams, betnovate, donovex etc. which seem to keep the problem at bay but it never actualy goes away.

swimming in the sea and some sunshine works for me. not practical in chiang mai though.

i hope you find the treatment that works for you.

good luck,

sorry, that should have been, www.roombyroom-thailand.com

checkout www.roombyroom.com, i used and found them very helpful when i rented in hau hin a couple of years ago.

try the amazing sandwich on huay kaew rd for yoghurt, they do a 650ml for 59 baht and also a much bigger size, probably 1.5- 2ltrs.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Passports/index.htm

i renewed my passport recently on my return to u.k.

using the above link i phoned the number to make an appointment at the victoria, london office. you can only book an appointment 14 days or less before you plan to present yourself. they prefer you to phone using skype. i had great difficulty getting through on my thai mobile.

they will ask you a few questions, have a contact phone no. ready and if you still have one a u.k address. (they sent an application form to my address with a booklet explaining how to fill the form out, read it, it helps)

oddly enough they did not ask for my present passport number.

you can also get these forms at bigger post offices.

they will then give you an appointment time and a refence number.

you will only be let into the building ten minutes before your appointment and go through a security check and then given a numbered ticket and wait to be called to the counter.

your form will be examined and if all is o.k given a collection receipt for exactly four hours later. you then pay the cashier. 138.50 gbp for a jumbo passport.

i also had a few months to run on my existing passport, and they gave me an extra six months on my new one.

there is a photo booth at the victoria office (dont know about the others) which gives you the proper passport photos they require. 5gbp for six if i remember rightly, have change, 5x1pound coins.

the staff from the initial phone call to the final collection were all very friendly and helpful.

hope it all goes as smoothly for you as it did for me.

p.s dont go into the yuppie style cafe opposite the victoria office unless you dont mind paying 6.50 for a bacon sarnie and a coffee.

www.therealcentreoftheuniverse.com check out the link, i think it's the place you are looking for. do a lap for me.

does anybody know where i can buy navigation charts in chiang mai? i'm looking for no.93260 ko chang-ko kut.

thanks in advance,

jerry.

going to u.k. 8-23 sept., if you can get the items sent to a london address i might be able to help you. p.m. me with mobile no. if interested.

a very useful site which i did not know existed. i have just checked my recently purchased air tickets and all is in order.

thanks for the info.

sawasdii, i am 58 years old with a u.k. passport,

when my non imm o visa expires about 7th january 2011, after getting 15 months out of it, what are my options.

i dont really want to return to u.k. before june/july 2011 unless i have to.

i am not married to a thai and do not wish do not wish to go for a retirement visa at the moment.

is it possible to get any sort of tourist visas to cover me for the six month period?

also my passport expires in july 2011.

many thanks in advance for any info,

jerry.

www.tourismhuahin.com/busses-huahin.php , check out the link for times of vip busses to phuket.

happy travels.

URGENT, O NEGATIVE BLOOD REQUIRED IN CHIANG MAI. PLEASE CONTACT MARIKE ON 089 034 4644

thanks jerry.

sawasdii sleepyjohn, i am looking at a printed timetable dated feb 18 2009, as i type, for the northern line railway. bangkok to chiang mai. it would seem all trains stop at don meuang.

maybe you could go to c.m station and pick up a current timetable so you can plan your trip.

if memory serves me well, you walk over the dual carriageway to don meuang station via a walkway. cant remember if its glass enclosed or not.

hope it all works out.

jerry.

I don't remember the name but the oldest and imo the best in Hua Hin is on the same street as the post office and police station about 100 meters toward the beach on the same side of the street as the post office.

i believe its called western travel.

try this number for cheap calls from a u.k. landline to a thai mobile, 084497229700. after calling, wait for the voice prompt then enter 0066xxxxxxxx. it works when people call me, i'm on dtac/happy.

good luck.

in chiang mai, i get my CAT card at the customer services counter at TOPS supermarket.

That 'guided tour for 6,700thb".......does it include hotel, food etc and how many days??. Any info on the web??

jaideeguy, the 6,700 baht was for flight only. there is a deal starting at 7,900 baht per person (2 pax or 1,500 baht single supplement) including 3 nights accomadation.

you cant book online. the airbagan website seems to be geared at burmese coming here.

suggest you contact kook at ranvel tour for more info.

lots of info on this forum on yangon.

thanks to uptheos for directions to airbagan office, could not find it on the web.

happy travels, jerry.

ian,i am thinking of going to burma on a visa run for a change. i have been to air bagans office and they were shut for business, but,some body from the people who manage was inside. they have their own travel agency not far away which i went to.

two of the ladies who work there were in burma recently, one in march. she(kook) told me alot about it and showed me some great photos.

there is a guided tour leaving on july 22nd, not sure of the details.

cnx/ yangon round trip 6,700 baht +$10 airport tax. $30 visa on arrival.

contact kook at, 08 6116 4177

ranvel tour,111/5 rakang rd, off changklan rd. (pass all the banks as you go out of the city, turn right at the lights, continue to cross roads, its on the right as you go over)

i have just met someone who goes to burma often on business and will be meeting him soon for a good chat about it.

hope this info is of help, let me know how you get on,

jerry.

glitterman, there is a thai temple in tenerife, which is in europe according to ask jeeves.

i remember reading something a couple of years ago, i think on this forum, about dogs chasing bikes and motorbikes and according to a DOG PHSYCOLOGIST its just dogs having "dog fun".

.

.maybe we should start throwing sticks for them.

any chance of making the topic description lettering a little larger please.

Their is a direct busservice starting from Nakhom Rachasima (Korat) daily to Hua Hin

check out, SHINNAKEART, korat, ph no.044 255555.

dept korat, 10am, 2pm, 10pm

arr hau hin 5.30pm 9.30pm 5.00am

fare 383bht.

i have seen the bus in h.h. station, definetly v.i.p.

p.s. this is last years time table.

happy travels

do they still take $10 at the border, or is 500 baht only now? anyone know?

they did when i was there a month ago and as far as i know they still do. make sure your $10 bill is in A1 condition or they wont accept it.